As we qu
ickly approach summer, one of the many services CAP offers is our summer camps run by enthusiastic volunteers and staff. Have you ever wondered what the camp staff does during the year when all the children are in school? During the school year, staff and volunteers stay involved in the lives of children in the community. CAP is invited into the local schools to work with students to develop positive life skills and techniques for responding to adverse situations in a peaceful manner. Preschool students, as well as high school students, learn how to deal with bullies, combat peer pressure, and manage their anger in a positive way.
Teachers at these schools identify students who are struggling and need extra help in the classroom, or students who need assistance to grasp concepts. CAP also works with students in the classroom to help them understand their lessons. The schools also invite CAP to be part of assemblies for their students. Last year, History Day was hosted at a local elementary school. CAP employees and volunteers dressed up in historical clothing and performed a skit about the Civil War. CAP also offers presentations for students to teach them values of a healthy lifestyle such as staying healthy by staying active and eating nutritious food and drink.
One student we work with had experienced a troubled home situation and was assessed with educational delays. A CAP volunteer worked one on one after school to help him with his reading skills and other important subjects. Because of the dedication of his school and CAP, he has now progressed into an excellent student and he is even in an accelerated math class! The student has become involved in other areas of CAP too; he has even started attending summer camp with his siblings!
CAP summer camp facilities do not lie dormant throughout the school year. Twice per year, both of our summer camps offer a three day teen leadership camp for students who are 16-17 years of age. They engage the teens in lessons about integrity and responsibility, and how they can use those skills to be leaders in their own communities. If the participants attend both leadership camps they are offered an interview in the spring to become a junior counselor. This will allow them to lead games and teach arts and crafts to the campers. Hopefully, once the junior counselors turn eighteen they will return and serve as an adult counselor. Counselors serve as role models for the younger CAP participants, a reflection of how CAP has been a positive influence in their lives and shaped them to become leaders!
CAP is truly part of the community and we use all our resources to ensure that our participants thrive in any situation. From the classroom to the camps, CAP engages our participants all year to help them better perform as a student or be a leader in their own community.
